Cribbage scorekeeper



sepa 20, ww. N C, FETTER 2,482,563

CRIBBAGE SCOREKEEPER Filed July 27, 194e Patented Sept. 20,y 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CRIBBAGE SCOREKEEPER Norman C. Fetter, Freeport, Ill.

Application July 27, 1946, Serial No. 686,642

This invention relates to a new and improved scorekeeping or tallying device especially designedand adapted for use in connection with the card game of cribbage.' Y f The principal object of my invention is to provider in a single device complete scorekeeping facilities for two players, or two teams of players, in which there is always a numerical indication of the scores thus saving time and yavoiding confusion and possible arguments on the part of the players.

A salient feature of the present device is the fact that each gain or increment will be indicated in a window on the device by an advancing drum before the player registers the gain on an accumulator drum, the total score of the individual player ror teamy at any given point in the game being indicated in another window on the device by the accumulator drum.` In that way there is no likelihood of a mistake being made in scoring and the opposing players or teams can always see at a glance what the standings are.

Another object is to provide a device of the kind mentioned in which an audible signal is given the player when the accumulated score on the accumulator drum is near the total of 121 required for the game, there being an audible click as each point is registered up to within, say, one'point of 121 so that the silience vin the registering of the last one point will make it evident at once to the player that he has come to the end of the game.

Another object is to provide a device of the kind mentioned which is of sheet metal construction substantially throughout for lightness and durability as well as low cost.

VThe invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig` 1 is a perspective view of a cribbage scorekeeper made in accordance with my invention;

Fig 2 is a View partly in front elevation and partly in vertical section, the pair of drums on the left side having enough of their numbered peripheries showing to illustrate the relationship in rtheir numbering and also the relationship between the smooth portion of the ratchet wheel and the numbering on the accumulator drum, and the pair of drums on the right side being shown entirely in section to better illustrate the operative relationship of the drums to one another and how the accumulator drum is arranged to be actuated with its ratchet wheel by the spring tooth on the advancing drum andl is arranged to be held frictionally in each advanced position;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side View of the right hand pair of drums to better illustrate the operating connection between the advancing drum and accumulator drum and also to show the smooth end portion of the ratchet Wheel which 15 Claims. (Cl. 2235-117) 4. is relied upon tosignal the imminent end of the game, and

Figs. 4 and 5 are face views of the scales applied to the peripheries of the advancing drum and accumulator drum, respectively, a portion of the scale in Fig. 5 being broken away.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts in these ve views.

Referring to the drawing, the reference numeralf 6 designates generally the housing of the cribbage scorekeeper which comprises a generally U-shaped sheet metal frame providing parallel vertical side walls 'I and B'interconnected by a horizontal bottom wall 9, and a sheet metal cover I0 which is arched to conform to the arcuate.

shape of the upper end of the side walls 1 and 8 and has narrow inwardly bent anges II on the opposite longitudinaledges which abut the outside of the side walls to keep the cover properly located- With respect to these side walls and has inwardly and upwardly bent end portions vI2 which are clinchedbehind the downwardly projecting flanges I3provided on the lfront and rear ends of the bottom wall 9 to fasten the cover in assembled relation to the rest of the housing 6. Two windows I4 marked Peg are provided in the cover I0 adjacent the rims I5 of a pair of advancing drums IB which carry scales Il numbered from 0 to 29, asshown in Fig. 4, because in the card game of cribbage the score is increased duringl the game vby increments varying from 1 to 29, the scoring being designated by the term peg which accounts for the caption Peg appearing` adjacent the windows I4. Another pair of Windows I8 is provided in the cover I0 through whichfmay'be seen scales I9 provided on the rims 20 of` accumulator drums 2|, these scales I9 being numbered from 0 to 120, as shown in Fig. 5the number of points required for a game of cribbage being 121. As will .soon appear, each ofthe two players or the two teams of players will be assigned one or the other of the pair of windows. I4 and I8 for scorekeeping purposes andeach gain or increment will first be registered in the Peg window I4 by the turning of the assigned advancing drum I6 by means of a lever 22l projecting laterally from the drum through an arcuate slot 23 kprovided'in the adjacent side wall 'I or 8 of the housing 6, both of the drums I6 being provided with these lever projections and both side walls -'I and 8 having the arcuate slots 23 vthrouglfi,which these levers extend for manual operation, as indicated in Fig. 2. Now, assuming, let `us say, 5 points are to be pegged by a player or team, the appropriate drum I6 will be turned byV upward movement of the lever 22 until the numeral 5 appears in the window I4. Then, assuming that player of team has already accumulated a score of, say, 100, the numeral will; appear in the companion window I8 and upon downward movement of the lever 22 baclr to its starting point the accumulator drum 2! will be turned to the extent of 5 points, the number of points pegged, andthe score then appearing in window I8 will, of course, be' 105.l The slot 23 is long enough to permit pegging anywhere from 1 to 29 points at a time, 29 points being the most that a player or team can gain at a time in a game of Cribbage.

The shaft 24, upon which the two pairs of drums IB and 2| are mounted for rotation, has

reduced trunnion end portions 25'*` received inv bearing holes 26 in the side Walls 1 and 8 of the housing 6. This keeps the side walls properly spaced at all times and in snug engagement with the flange Il. An annular groove 21 is provided in the shaft 24 at the middle to provide a reduced middleA bearing portion 28 concentric with the end portions 25-having a close working fit in theA lower end of a vertical slot 29 provided in a vertical partition 30 that is disposedV in the middle of the housing B in parallel relation to the side walls 1 and 8 and has a tongue 3| on the lower end thereof tting snugly in a slot 32 provided in the middle of the bottom wall 9 of the housing E. This partition 3U is` therefore rigidly supportedv in iixed spaced relation to the side wall 1 and 8. It is fairly narrow and made from a sheet of hard iibre and serves as a friction member to hold the accumulator drums 2| frictionally in whatever the drum I6. The drums are held against turningk from adjusted position because portions 34 bear against the opposite sides of the friction member 3|] and portions 35 bear against inwardly embossed circular frictional abutment portions 36 provided on the side walls 1 and 8 in concentric relation to the bearing holes 26; Obviously, the circular recesses provided in the embossed portions 34 and 35 serve to'keep the springs 33 in sub` stantially concentric relation to the shaft 24, and there is so little frictional resistance to turning of either drum with respect to the spring 33 that there is no danger of transmitting rotation from one drum to the other through thespring. Pawl and ratchet means arel provided for positively turningA the accumulator drums by rotation of the advancing drumsV in one direction. Each of the accumulator drums 2| carries a ratchetwheel 31 on four lugs 38 which are'struck from the sheet metal of these drums in equally circumferentially spaced relation and have narrow'end portions 39 entered in slots 48 provided inthe ratchet wheels, the projecting end portions being bent at right angles, as clearly appears in Fig, 2, to provide a permanent and secure connection. Holes 44 in the centers'of the ratchet wheels 31 afford ample operating clearance for the springs 33. The advancing drums I6 have'resilient spring tooth portions 4I struck from the peripheral anges I thereof adapted to ride-on the periphery of the ratchet wheels 31 in the manner shown in Fig. 3, so that either right or left hand drive may be used. In other words, two'of these spring teeth 4I are provided on each drum extending toward one another so that one of these teeth` will be active for the right hand drum I6, namely; the

4 right hand tooth in Fig. 3, whereas the other tooth is the active tooth on the left hand drum, the idle tooth in both cases being arranged either to ride idly over the teeth of the ratchet wheel, giving nothing more than frictional drag, or be cut o'ii or bent out of the way. The drive tooth 4I clicks freely over the teeth of the ratchet wheel when the advancing drum I5 is turned in the pegging direction to register the number of points gained, which, as stated before, may be anywhere from one totwenty-nine points at a time. However, irr the return movement of the drum I6 the drive tooth 4| turns the ratchet wheel 31 and accumulator drum 2| with it so as to advance the accumulator drum the registered number of points. ANow, the.y scales I1 and I9' have their letv in Fig. 2, the numbering on scale I1 is in one direction and the numbering on. scale I9 inthe other direction; The ratchet wheels 31 have the teeth 42 thereof spaced to correspond to the spacing'of the'numbers l to 29 and 0 to "120" on the scales |1 and I9, respectively. The teeth 42 are'spaced so that 124 teeth would take up the full circumference of each ratchet Wheel. However, the cutting of three teeth is omitted, as .indicated at 43 in Fig. 3, so as to give a total of 121, to correspond with the total score of the cardgame of cribbage, the smooth portion 43 constituting the last tooth. With this construction there is obtained a clearly audible click in the pegging of' each of 120 points, and an easily noticeable silencev as the drive tooth 4I rides over the long` blank tooth or dwell 43. This signal 43 tells the player when he has reached the 121 score which is theV Assuming, for example, that end of the game. the player or team has already accumulated a. score'of 100 and makes a gain of'25 points; under these conditions, as the lever 22 is raised to Peg the 25 points gained, there will be a clicking` sound as the active Vtooth 4I rides over the teeth on the ratchet 42 for only the rst twenty points, and, immediately thereafter,v further` movementA of the lever 22 does notproduce the'corresponding clicking sound and the operator,'therefore knows that the game is ended. When the drive toothy 4I is moved to the rst tooth a beyond thel supported on the inside of the cover for rotation on. axles 41 and they project through slots 48 provided in the side walls 1 and 8 ofthe housing to' permit manual operation thereof.

In operation, assuming that all of the drums I6V and 2| register 0 andthe dials 4I also register' 0 for the start of a game of Cribbage, the drive teeth 4I on the advancing drums I6 are, under these conditions, in engagement with the iirst tooth 42 on the ratchet wheelsl 31, namely, at the point marked"aY in Fig. 3. The first player or team to recorda score does so by raising the lever 22 of its assigned advancing drum I6to any extent where the specified number of points to'be pegged' are indicated inthe Window I4 whereupon thev lever 22 is pushed down so as to have that number of points show ink the Window I8 as having been registered on the kaccumulator drum 2'I. For each gain of points thereafter the lever 22is raised to show the speciiied number of points in the window il and then is pushed down againso as:

means:

tof add'that number of points to the number of points appearing on the accumulator drum. The

frictional resistance to turning of the accumulator drum eliminates any danger of the accumulator drum turning in a backward direction with the advancing drum in the upward movement of the lever 22. In other words, there is more friction.

resistance to turning of either of the accumulator drums 2l by reason of their engagement with the friction member 3U than is traceable to the en-` gagement of the springs 33 with the advancing drums I6, and hence, the advancing drums can be turned relative to the accumulator drums in the manner stated. When the score in one of the windows I8 is near the total of 121 required for the game, the operator in raising the lever`22 should. exercise caution so as not to allow the drive tooth 4| on the advancing drum to ride past the tooth a on the ratchet wheel 31, because then there would be some number other than recorded in the window I8 when the lever 22 was returned to the lower end of the slot 23, which would make it necessary to continue advancing the drum 2l through the rest of a complete revolution to reach 0 a second time. So long as the operator 'hears the clicking sound as he raises the lever 22, he knows that the total score with the additional points he is registering is still below 121. When the player or team has won a game, the appropriate dial 46 is turned to register 1 in the window 45, and, of course, the

losing player or team makes whatever adjustment is necessary to bring its indicated score in the window I8 back to 0 for the start of the next game, thus if they had 115 showing in the window I8, it is obvious that by pegging 6 points by upward movement of the lever 22, the smooth portion 43 on the ratchet wheel 31 would be reached and then the lever 22 would be raised still farther enough to bring about engagement of the drive tooth 4I with the first tooth a beyond the smooth portion 43, which operation would be indicated by a click, whereupon the lever 22 is then returned to the lower end of theslot 23 to register 0 in the window I8.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. In a scorekeeping device of the character described, a U-shaped sheet metal frame providing a-bottorn and opposed side walls for housing a scoring mechanism, a horizontal cross-shaft having reduced end portions received in holes provided therefor in said side walls, the reduced portions defining annular shoulders on the shaft ends abutting the inside of said side walls to prevent inward displacement thereof, scorekeeping elements mounted on the shaft for rotation, means for turning said elements, and a sheet metal cover of each pair to urge the same apart for frictional contact of one element of each pair with the inner side of the side walls, and a middle partition wall in said 'frame between the two pairs of elements and frictionally engaged on opposite sides by one .f

verse groove provided therein intermediate itsA ends, and a friction member located in said groove and frictionally engaged on opposite sides by one element of each pair under the action of said spring means.

4. A device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said shaft has an annular groove provided therein at an intermediate point aligned vertically with a slot in the bottom wall, the device including a partition member between the side walls of the housing iitting in said groove and slot and supported thereby in fixed spaced relation to the side walls. f

5. A device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said shaft has an annular groove provided therein at an intermediate point aligned vertically with a slot in the bottom wall, the device including a partition member between the side walls of the housing fitting in said groove and slot and supported thereby in iixed spaced relation to the side walls, there being two pairs of scorekeeping elements rotatably mounted on said shaft, said device including spring means between the elements of each pair to urge the same apart for frictional contact of one element of each pair with the inner side of the side walls, the other element of each pair being held under the spring pressure in frictional engagement with the partition member.

6. In a scorekeeping device of the character described, aU-shaped sheet metal frame providing a bottom and opposed side walls for housing a scoring mechanism, a horizontal cross-shaft having reduced end portions received in holes provided therefor in said side walls, the reduced portions defining annular shoulders on the shaft ends abutting the inside of said side walls to prei vent inward displacement thereof, the front and rear ends of the bottom wall having downwardly projecting flanges, a sheet metal cover of inverted generally U-shape fitting over said frame and providing front, top and back walls for housing the scoring mechanism, the side portions of said cover being defined by inwardly projecting' flanges abutting the outside of said side walls to prevent outward displacement thereof, the lower end portions of said front and back walls overlapping the aforesaid downwardly projecting flanges on the bottom wall and having inwardly and upwardly bent 1portions for securing the cover .to said frame on said downwardly projecting 65`VV '7. In aV scorekeeping device, the combinationj of a support, an accumulator drum rotatably mounted on said support bearing indicia running in one direction and covering the full range of scoring for a game, an advancing drum rotatably mounted on said support in coaxial relation to the accumulator drum and bearing indicia running in the opposite direction .and covering Vthe range 4 of points scorable at any one time in a game, means to hold Ythe drums normally in adjusted position, a cover on said support having windows through which the indicia on said drums may be viewed, manually operable means for turning the advancing drum in one direction to register the number of points gained and back again to position, and pawl and ratchet means interconnecting said drums whereby the accumulator drum is turned with the other drum only in the return movements thereof` 8. In a Cribbage scorekeeping device, the combination of a support, two accumulator drums rotatably mounted on said support bearing indicia running in one direction covering the full range of scoring for a game of Cribbage, an advancing drum associated with each accumulator drum rotatably mounted on said support in coaxial relation to the accumulator drum and bearing indicia running in the opposite direction and covering the range of points scorable at any one time in a game of cribbage, means to hold the drums normally in adjusted position, a cover on said support having windows through which the indicia on said drums may be viewed, manually operable means for turning either advancing drum in one direction to register the number of points gained and. back again to a 0 position, and pawl and ratchet means interconnecting each accumulator drum with its associated advancing drum, whereby the accumulator drums are turned with the advancing drums only in the return movements thereof.

9. In a Cribbage scorekeeping device, the combination of a support, two accumulator drums rotatably mounted on said support bearing indicia covering the full range of scoring for a game of Cribbage, an advancing drum associated with each accumulator drum rotatably mounted on said support in coaxial relation to the accumulator drum and bearing indicia covering the range of points scorable at any one time in a game of cribbage, means to hold the drums normally in adjusted position, a cover on said support having windows through which the indicia on said drums may be viewed, manually operable means for turning either advancing drum in one direction to register the number of points gained and back again to a "0 position, and pawl and ratchet means interconnecting each accumulator drum with its associated advancing drum.

10. In a scorekeeping device, the combination of a support, an accumulatordrum rotatably mounted on said support bearing indicia covering the full range of Scoring for a game, an advancing drum rotatably mounted on said support in coaxial relation to the accumulator drum and bear'- ing indicia covering the range of points scorable at any one time in a game, a coiled compression spring urging said drums apart toward frictional contact with surfaces on the support, whereby frictionally to resist turning of said drums from adjusted positions, a cover on said support having windows through which the indicia on said drums are visible, means for turning the advancing drum first in one direction to register in one of said windows the number of points gained and to be scored at any given time and then back again to a 0 position, and pawl and ratchet means interconnecting said drums.

11. In a Cribbage scorekeeping device, the combination of a support, two accumulator drums rotatably mounted on said support bearing indicia running in one direction and covering the full range of scoring for a game of Cribbage, an advancing drum associated with each accumulator drum rotatably mounted on said support in co' with surfaces on the support, whereby frictionally` to resist turning of said drums from adjusted positions, a cover on said support having windows through which the indicia on said driuns are visible, means for turning the advancing drum rst in one direction to register in one of said windows the number of points gained and to be scored atV any 'given time and then back again to a 0 position, and pawl and ratchet means interconnecting each accumulator drum with its associated advancing drum, whereby the accumulator drums are turned by the advancing drums only in the return movements thereof.

12. A device as set forth in claim 9 wherein the pawl and ratchet means comprises a ratchet wheel fixed to and turning with each accumulator drum having the circumference thereof formed to pro vide one hundred-twenty teeth and a smooth blank portion between the one hundred-twentieth tooth and the first tooth, the teeth of each of said ratchet wheels being spaced to correspond with the spacing of the indicia on the drums.

13. A scorekeeping device as set forth in claim 8, wherein the advancing drum is of sheet metal construction and has an annular flange providedV thereon, and wherein the pawl and ratchet means comprises for its pawl portion a spring tooth formed from a portion of said flange and arranged to ride over the teeth of a ratchet wheel mounted on the accumulator drum and forming the ratchet portion of the pawl and ratchet means.

. 14. A scorekeeping device as set forth in claim 8, wherein the advancing drum is of sheet metal construction and has an annular flange provided thereon, and wherein the pawl and ratchet means comprises for its pawl portion a spring tooth formed from a portion of said iiange and arranged to ride over the teeth of a ratchet wheel mounted on the accumulator drum and forming the ratchet portion of the pawl and ratchet means, the ratchet wheel having teeth throughout the major portion of the circumference thereof but having aV smooth blank portion interconnecting the firstand last teeth.

15. A scorekeeping device as set forth in claim 8, wherein the v`pawl and ratchet means comprises for its ratchet portion a ratchet wheel fixed tol yand turning with the accumulator drum, said ratchet Wheel having teeth throughout the major portion of the circumference thereof and having a smooth blank portion interconnecting the first and last teeth.

NORMAN C. FETTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,347,014 Corlss July 20, 1920 

